TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged other countries yesterday to respect the result of a snap election won by his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

His comments came as the Council of Europe said pre-ballot violence and security clampdowns had tainted the voting process.

The ruling AKP regained its parliamentary majority five months after losing it in the previous election.

With all ballots counted, the party was projected to win 317 seats in the 550-member parliament with 49 per cent of the vote. Turnout on Sunday was high at 85 per cent.

The June election saw the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), formed in 2012 to provide representation for the left and the Kurdish minority, exceed the 10 per cent threshold for seats in parliament.

But Sunday’s poll saw the HDP just scraping in, winning 59 seats compared to 80 in June.
A deadly police crackdown in Kurdish areas, ostensibly targeting the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), attacks on

HDP members and party offices and the silencing of pro-opposition media all restricted the opposition’s ability to campaign.

Council of Europe delegation leader Andreas Gross said: “Unfortunately, we came to the conclusion that this campaign was unfair and was characterised by too much violence and by too much fear.”

An October 10 suicide bomb attack on a peace rally in the capital Ankara “significantly affected the atmosphere and conduct of the campaign,” the council said.

Nevertheless, the European Union’s chief diplomat Federica Mogherini and EU commissioner Johannes Hahn said the bloc would work towards closer ties with Turkey, which aspires to membership.

international@peoples-press.com
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